The investment sales market picked up tremendously in the third quarter, partly due to large scale transactions in China. Both domestic and cross-border investors are still actively looking for opportunities offering stable returns.

With rents at historic lows, the Tokyo leasing market remained active in the third quarter as requirements for office consolidations continued to drive demand. The earthquake-related lull in investment transactions in Q2/2011, meanwhile, proved short lived, supported by a general view that market pricing is close to its nadir.